Rooney ready to emulate Roy Keane for England

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Date: October 12, 2012

Wayne Rooney will walk out at Wembley tonight as England captain for the first time. Despite the opposition being San Marino, it will be a massive occasion for Rooney who will be out to prove that he is ready to lead his country out.

Ahead of the game, he has spoken to Manutd.com about which former skipper has inspired him the most.

He said: “Roy Keane, without a doubt, having played with him for a couple of years and seen how he played on the pitch and dealt with things off it.

“He was vocal on the pitch and helped me off it. He was a great captain.

“I was lucky enough to play with him and, hopefully, I can gain some of his qualities in my own game.

“I’ve had a few rollickings off him and we had a few debates. We both wanted to win and sometimes, when you want to win, it’s not always about sitting down and talking quietly.

“You have a go at each other purely to try and get the best out of each other. If you saw the way he was with the other senior players, it was the same as with the younger players.

“He was not afraid to tell everybody how he felt and how he wanted them to perform. He treated everyone the same. He wanted to win and he wanted his team to win. That was a great quality.”

A lot of people are doubting whether Wayne Rooney is capable of leading his country, calling into question his discipline on the pitch after he got sent off against Montenegro after kicking out.

However, the same people questioning his discipline seem to forget that he has only received one yellow card in his last 44 competitive games. He has matured a lot in the past 12 months and at 26, he is ready to take on board the responsibility of being England captain.

If he can emulate even half of the presence Roy Keane had as a captain, he’ll be doing very well.

He continued: “I respected him. He was one of the best players in Premier League and Manchester United history.

“He is the type of player I like when he has a go at you, because I want to show them what I can do.

“I wasn’t fearful. It was about desire and passion. I’m not going to change because I’ve got the armband. I’m quite vocal on the pitch. I speak to players and tend to play with determination, which I hope can lift the players and fans.

“I’ve always tried to help young players and taken advice as well. It’s a great honour to captain the team and, hopefully, it will be a successful night for us.”

About The Author

Sam founded The Peoples Person back in 2011 after writing his university dissertation on The Munich Air Disaster. Since then, the website has been creating daily Man United content on everything from transfers and features to full match day coverage.